Anthony Albanese mulls ban after Scott Morrison minister for everything scandal

Anthony Albanese at a Queensland cattle station on Friday

Anthony Albanese will consider ‘reform’ to make sure prime ministers can’t appoint themselves to multiple portfolios in secret.

The prime minister said Mr Morrison’s self-appointments to the health, finance, resources, treasury and home affairs portfolios during his term in office needed to be scrutinised.

‘There’s separate questions about the functioning of our democracy, about conventions and whether any conventions have been overturned and whether there’s a need for any reforms required to ensure that something like this can never happen again,’ Mr Albanese told Sky News on Sunday.

‘Very clearly, there’s a need for proper scrutiny of what occurred here, this was an undermining of our parliamentary democracy.’

Mr Albanese is on Monday expected to receive legal advice from the solicitor-general on whether Mr Morrison breached any rules when he appointed himself to the five portfolios.

One of Mr Morrison’s decisions, as joint resources minister, was to block the PEP-11 gas exploration licence off the NSW coast after the then resources minister Keith Pitt approved the project. 

The final decision is now the subject of a Federal Court appeal.

Mr Albanese is on Monday set to receive legal advice from the solicitor-general on whether Mr Morrison (pictured with wife Jenny) breached any rules

Greens leader Adam Bandt wants an inquiry to examine Mr Morrison’s conduct and whether he misled the parliament or pressured the governor-general or public service.

‘The longer that this goes on, the more questions that are raised about exactly how much damage has been done to Australian democracy,’ Mr Bandt told ABC News on Monday.

‘You’re entitled to expect that when the prime minister stands up and says ‘here’s who the ministers are in my parliament, here’s what my responsibilities are’, you’re entitled to expect that they are telling the truth and it’s becoming clear day by day that that’s not the case.’

The Greens have already asked House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick to refer Mr Morrison to the powerful privileges committee over the scandal.

Mr Bandt said an inquiry would also need to examine who was asked by Mr Morrison to keep his ministries secret from the public and most of his colleagues.

‘One of the things that we don’t yet know is whether or not that was done at Scott Morrison’s requests whether or not he made requests of the governor-general to keep some of these appointments secret,’ he said.

‘Similarly, with respect to his own department, what did… the former prime minister do?’

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce revealed he didn’t push back against Mr Morrison’s increased powers or blocking of the gas project because he thought his party would lose the extra portfolio it had gained.

Mr Joyce said he was never explicitly told by Mr Morrison that he had appointed himself as resources minister, but eventually found out ‘obliquely’.

He said he had negotiated an extra ministry for the Nationals, which would have been taken off them had he ‘gone into bat’ over Mr Morrison’s actions.

However, he said he didn’t want to see Mr Morrison kicked out of parliament.

‘I don’t believe in a presidential system of government. So no, he should (not) have done it, but he hasn’t done anything illegal,’ he told the Seven Network on Monday.

‘This shouldn’t have happened… I believe in the cabinet system.’